August Recap + What I’m Looking Forward to in September
It’s hard to believe it’s September already! Here’s what life looked like this past month…plus what we’re looking forward to!
August Recap:
Bjorn was gone for army. Basically for all of August, or at least it felt that way! Bjorn was gone for 3 weeks for a more intensive annual training this year. Although I’m used to my husband being busy with his multiple jobs and commitments here at home, I’m still used to him coming home every night! It’s a whole other thing to have him gone for 3 weeks straight. It felt longer than the 6 weeks apart we’ve done in the past, but I don’t mean to complain about it. So, Sophie and I filled our month with projects and some fun outings, plus time with friends and family.
^^ Sophie looked up at our photo every morning and waved at Daddy! ^^
Sophie and I dropped Bjorn off at army so that we could have the pickup truck for the month. That was a sad little goodbye for me – I pulled away from his army reserve unit in a big thunderstorm, which matched my mood, haha.
It was just my baby girl and me, for much of August! While we missed Daddy, we had a lot of sweet moments together. <3
Sophie and I spent a rainy afternoon at a lovely mall with my childhood friend, Emily! We both love Barnes & Noble, so even though we wandered around the mall some, we ended up back at Barnes & Noble at their cafe. We discovered it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so Emily and I had to get cookies! 🙂 It was a sweet afternoon.
We met my niece, baby Mia! Sophie and I stayed with my parents for a couple more days, and then it was time to head back home. We packed up necessities and a cooler of meal ideas, and headed down to Iowa to my sister- and brother-in-law’s to meet their new baby girl! 🙂 Baby Mia is Sophie’s first ever cousin! It’s fun to think about all of the future adventures the two of them will have. I loved holding sweet Mia – she seemed so small compared to my 10-month-old! It’s amazing how quickly time flies. We had a nice visit with the new family of 3!
We visited the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota! My friend Jordan and I took our girls to the museum one Saturday. We hadn’t been there before and it was just as much fun as I’d hoped! We had such a great time indoors and didn’t even make it to the outside portion with live animals! Next time!
^^ Our 3 girls enjoyed playing with all of the sensory stuff at the museum! ^^
^^ Sophie was excited the entire time we were at the fair! ^^
We enjoyed a couple days at another county fair! I love all of the fairs there are to go to during the summer! Sophie and I went with family while Bjorn was gone. It was a larger county fair than the one I’m used to, so it was fun to see all of the options available – there was a lot to see, do, and eat! 🙂 Sophie, of course, was obsessed with the animals and loved meeting a donkey, alpacas, goats, rabbits, and more!
Sophie had an allergic reaction. 🙁 While Bjorn was still gone at army, Sophie had a rough day complete with throwing up and getting an icky rash. It was so sad! And initially, quite scary for me to deal with. The allergist and the nurse practitioner who checked on Sophie at the doctor’s office both felt it wasn’t a virus, but instead was an allergic reaction to something. I showed them some new snacks that I had suspicions about, and they agreed – it was almost definitely the strawberries as an ingredient in the snacks. I felt so bad! Sophie felt so much better by the next morning, but she really didn’t feel like herself that day. I kept a tight watch on her and we filled the day with cuddles. Poor girl! I’m so glad that’s all it was.
^^ Coming home from the doctor and attempting a sweet smile for Mama before we pulled out of the parking lot. Sweet Sophie girl! ^^
Sophie got her finger caught. Cue more mommy sadness! She got her finger caught in the back side of a cupboard, and it was hard for me to even get her finger out! (It makes me shiver to remember it now!) I called a nurse help line and since Sophie was still crying hard 25 minutes later and her finger was still swelling, I took her to urgent care. The NP and pediatric doctor checked it out and it likely wasn’t broken…but at her age, with bones so malleable, there wasn’t much to be done either way. But we got some Motrin in her (first time I’ve ever given my daughter medicine) and by the end of the evening, Sophie felt happier. It was a dramatic evening, though!
I feel like I should note here that my default really isn’t to go to the doctor for every little thing. I didn’t grow up sick all the time or even going to the doctor all the time, and it’s not in me to run for the doctor. But it was just so sad that these two intense incidents happened, and I needed to make sure that it wasn’t a bigger deal…and they happened only 3 days apart!! (The finger incident was the night before Sophie and I drove up to pick Bjorn up from army.) Needless to say, I was ready to have Bjorn home again! And sweet Sophie has healed up nicely. Her finger is still bruised around the nail, but she feels great.
^^ She smiled so big, her pacifier almost fell out! Sophie was thrilled to see Daddy again after 3 weeks! ^^
Bjorn got done with his army training! Like I said, 3 weeks felt silly long this time around, haha. Sophie and I got up early and picked him up at his Army Reserve unit on a rainy morning. It felt so good to have him with us again!! We spent that day at the Minnesota Zoo (a great zoo, and one I have fond memories of from my childhood). Sophie had never been to a zoo before, but you can bet she had a great time! We left with a stuffed penguin from the gift store, since she got to see some friendly penguins up close and loved them so much! 🙂 Bjorn and Sophie and I actually continued on to the Mall of America and just enjoyed walking around even more on that rainy day. It just felt great to hang out as a family again!
^^ Leaving the zoo with her new penguin in tow! ^^
Bjorn and I had a fancy dinner date! We didn’t remember to snag a photo of the two of us, but we did get pics of our food! 🙂 It was a lovely, fancy place in a lakeside town near my parents’ house. We love restaurants that have cheese plates for appetizers. These were probably the best appetizers we’ve had!
I got the Slower Living Challenge up and running!! This was the blogging project I’d vaguely mentioned in my last updates post. It took some extra hours of work on the blog, but I’m so glad I got it published! I’m passionate about the subject of slower living and I learned in my recent reader survey that the majority of Just Bee’s readers are interested in it, too! That gave me the added motivation to get the project completed before September, like I’d planned! If you’re interested in joining the challenge with us this month, click here! You can download your special slower living calendar from that post as well.
We got some fun new items for the house. One was a Personal Blender
Another new product we’re loving right now is Bob! That’s right – we got a Bobsweep Robotic Vacuum. (I’m collaborating with the company.) We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much dirt Bob can pick up, and he definitely gets in more difficult places that I don’t always vacuum when I’m quickly cleaning the house. It’s been fun running Bob in the evenings after a busy day. Sophie loves to watch him work, too! 🙂
And I snagged these gorgeous antiques with my mom at a garage sale a couple weeks ago! I’m excited to incorporate this beautiful dresser and dough rising table into our future home.
There were just a lot of sweet memories and fun outings in August. It’s a special summer month – we’re always determined to soak up summer adventures before it ends!
^^ Chick-fil-A shakes and a walk with Grandma! ^^
^^ Somebody was happy to have her daddy back! ^^
^^ Visiting Daddy at his middle school classroom last week! ^^
What I’m Looking Forward to in September:
- BSF starting up again! I’m in a virtual group for Bible Study Fellowship again this year, and I can’t wait! There are tons of in-person BSF groups, especially in larger cities or more urban areas. I highly recommend getting involved in BSF if you can! BSF is for people of all ranges of knowledge about the Bible, and the discussion groups develop such sweet, safe connections to talk about faith. This year’s topic is People of the Promised Land, and I’m looking forward to studying the Old Testament more. As much as I’d love to find a nearby in-person group to attend (where Sophie could be part of the children’s classes), my virtual group is a blessing in itself, since we’re from all over the world! 🙂
- Figuring out a routine for the school year! With Bjorn’s school year starting again, Sophie and I will be settling into a daily routine of our own. I’ve been graciously given this school year off as additional childcare leave, and I want to use our time wisely! There are fun library storytimes to attend, playdates with friends to be had, and other neat classes or groups I’m looking into joining. Last school year was so much newborn-related, since Sophie was born in October, so this school year feels like a whole new fresh start, with our almost 1-year-old!!
- Time with friends and family. See a theme in my posts? I really enjoy times we can get together and have meaningful conversations or fun adventures with family and friends. I’m looking forward to playdates, hangout times, and other outings!
^^ playing with toys at my parents’ house 🙂 ^^
- Planning Sophie’s first birthday party! Her birthday will be coming up before we know it. I want to try to keep it simple…but at the same time, I’m a sucker for a good themed party! 😀 We’ll see what ends up happening.
- Our Slower Living Challenge! It’s a 30-day challenge that I developed, and I hope you’ll join in on it with me! I’m looking forward to the ways it’ll help me refocus on meaningful things in life, instead of getting caught up in meaningless tasks or worries.
Hope you all had a wonderful month of August! What are you looking forward to this next month?
Oh no! Sorry to hear about Sophie’s allergic reaction and smashed finger. Murphy’s Law definitely hit you hard while your husband was away!! I’m SO excited for the Slower Living Challenge this month– It’s forcing me to be more intentional in how I spend my time and mindful of each task I do!
Oh, it’s so horrible when kiddos are sick and the hubby is away. My little had her first er visit the first month my husband was deployed and I was a total wreck! Hoping for an easier and blessed September for you and yours!